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Tech Wildcatters workers at their new headquarters at the downtown tower in Dallas last fall.

Amid the activity of Dallas Startup Week, seed accelerator Tech Wildcatters has welcomed its largest class of 15 startups.

Yesterday, the startups began their three-month journey to fine tune their business plans, attract customers and generate sales. The companies traveled to Dallas from countries such as Russia and Germany as well as states such as Colorado and Washington. The class also includes startups from Fort Worth and Dallas.

“The caliber of the class is extraordinary,” said Tech Wildcatters executive director Molly Cain. “We chose the cream of the crop this year, and I’m excited to see what the class of 2015 produces. Just watch.”

After many months of planning, the inaugural Dallas Startup Week kicked off this morning with about 2,000 entrepreneurs, investors and others registered for the week-long event.

John Crawford of Downtown Dallas talked about the development and evolution of the business district, which is becoming a hip area for startups and entrepreneurs. A number of accelerators and coworking spaces have moved downtown in the past year, including Tech Wildcatters, Health Wildcatters, Dallas Fort Work and the Dallas Entrepreneur Center.

Dallas-based Lantern Pharma has raised $960,000 in funding less than three months after graduating from startup accelerator Health Wildcatters.

The funding was led by Dallas angel investment firm Green Park & Golf Ventures, which is a co-founder of Health Wildcatters. Other investors were part of this early-stage investment.

Lantern CEO Arun Asaithambi said the biotech startup will use the money to support pre-clinical and clinical trials for drugs to treat ovarian and prostate cancers. Using genetic screening, the startup is focused on identifying and treating patients that would benefit most from its drugs.

“We are one of those companies that want to implement personalized medicine for cancer patients,” Asaithambi said. “That’s where the industry is going.”

Dr. Clay Heighten, a founding partner at Green Park & Golf, said Lantern Pharma is “leading a wave of innovation in cancer treatment that we believe will bring the best therapies to patients who are most likely to respond.”

“Through molecular profiling, the cost of development is reduced and the speed to market is increased,” he added.

Asaithambi moved to Dallas from Washington D.C. to join Health Wildcatters late last year. Lantern Pharma is remaining in Dallas.

Asaithambi, who specializes in drug discovery and development, was inspired to go into biotechnology after losing his father to cancer when he was a teenager.

Neos Therapeutics, a Grand Prairie-based specialized pharmaceutical company, announced today it raised $20.6 million to advance its drug pipeline to treat Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD.

The company, which has been raising late-stage funding in the past year, said the latest funding will support its efforts during the regulatory review of its ADHD drug candidate.

In January, the company submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration a new drug application for an ADHD medication based on its patented orally disintegrating tablet technology. Unlike traditional tablets that are swallowed whole, Neos’ drug candidate is designed to quickly disintegrate on the tongue.

Neos is also working on two other ADHD drug candidates.

“We are grateful to our investors for their continued confidence and support of the company and our management team,” Neos CEO Vipin K. Garg said in a statement. “This places the company in an excellent financial position as we prepare to transition to a commercial enterprise during the next six to twelve months.”

Last year, the company raised $18 million in funding as well as completed a $20 million loan facility.

Members and mentors of Health Wildcatters' past class at its downtown headquarters last fall.

In conjunction with Dallas Startup Week starting Monday, Health Wildcatters is accepting early applications for its 2015 class.

The application process for the healthcare seed accelerator will open on Friday. Startups that apply early have a chance to earn automatic entry into the pitch component of the admission process.

As part of Startup Week, Health Wildcatters took a major role in organizing the event’s healthcare-related sessions.

“Since our program began, Health Wildcatters has been at the center of the thriving network of entrepreneurs that has taken shape in DFW,” said Health Wildcatters CEO Hubert Zajicek said. “And we have an incredible opportunity to help celebrate and grow that network through our participation in Startup Week events and the role our accelerator plays in attracting entrepreneurs to the region.”

The U.S. Small Business Administration is trying to address challenges facing working women.

The federal agency has launched the InnovateHER Business Challenge to find innovative products and services that help empower women’s lives when it comes to work-life issues. The SBA notes that 70 percent of working women have children under 18.

The SBA has identified three criteria for the competition: Products or services must have measurable impact on the lives of women and families; have the potential for commercialization and fill a need in the marketplace.

The SBA is offering three top awards totaling $30,000. The first round goes live in March with local competitions held by universities, accelerators or other partners. Each host will submit a local winner, and the SBA will select 10 finalists.

Finalists will pitch before a judging panel during National Small Business Week, May 4 to 8, in Washington D.C.

When Uber launched its smartphone-enabled car service in the Dallas region, it set up shop at the Common Desk in Deep Ellum.

When Lyft, a peer-to-peer car sharing service and Uber competitor, rode into town, it found an office at Weld, another coworking space in town.

It’s not unusual to see out-of-town startups coming into Dallas to set up their operations at coworking locations. After all, coworking spaces offer affordability and flexibility. They are often the office of choice for many local startups as well.

In February, Postmates, a San Francisco-based on-demand delivery service, launched in Dallas.

Connie Phan, Postmates’ community manager for Dallas, has set up camp at Dallas Fort Work in downtown. Phan is overseeing the operations here, including providing orientation to new drivers at the coworking space.

So far, the delivery service is seeing orders from the downtown business crowd and students at SMU, Phan said.

Come follow me on Twitter at @hanahcho and #dmncoworking tour as I visit major coworking spaces in the Dallas region during the next several weeks